Prototype: Inhuman
by Lord Purple Heart
Summary: Even after what's happened to New York, GENTEK's still lingering in the shadows. They continue to produce their genetic weaponry with their blind faith in the power of science, overstepping the bounds of morals and ideals. But they made a mistake when they fused the genes of Pariah and Dana Mercer to create a new Hope Child. He is Codename: Hercules.
1. Prologue: I am

Prototype: Inhuman

Prologue: I am...

I never knew my father.

I grew up in what they called a "containment ward" or some sort of "isolation unit" for the majority of my early childhood. I didn't really mind it. I liked the quiet. The quiet soothed my soul.

I read books in the spare time I had after those men in white coats were done asking me questions and testing me with strange needles.

I never understood why those needles were necessary back then. Besides, when they poke holes in my arm, the holes just disappear.

It was always filled up with some strange red liquid. I never bothered to ask just what exactly that stuff was. It looked...beautiful, in a sense. It was a stark and powerful contrast to the constant whiteness that was the color my room was.

White bedsheets, white ceiling, white tiles.

Everything was white.

I never quite understood that back then, either.

...

I never met my mother.

They said to me that after I was born, they had separated me from my genetic mother right away. I was never to make contact with her again because the two of us might do something dangerous. She might teach me something dangerous.

That's what the men in white coats told me.

I always believed them. I didn't think that they'd have any reason to keep the truth from me back then.

As I read many more novels as time went on, I began to understand a bit more of human nature. And so, when the next scientist came in, I decided to talk to her.

When she pulled out yet another needle to take my blood, I spoke to her.

I asked her why they wanted my blood.

I knew what blood was now, thanks to the books that I had been given.

She just smiled at me and said that it was necessary.

…

It was when I was thirteen.

I had begun to grow tired of the blood tests and the questions that those people would constantly ask me every day. And then one day, something different happened.

A man walked into my room, and he was nothing like I'd ever seen before.

He was wearing dark green clothes that looked clearly like he had ventured outdoors for a long time. His hair was a dark brown, a color I scarcely saw in this place. His skin was far darker than mine, which was pale and whitened.

His eyes were a startlingly ice blue, and I felt strange when I saw that color. I had never seen any of the people here with lab coats that also had blue eyes.

I remember standing up and walking up to him, a smile on my face.

I was about to ask him a question.

I couldn't ask that question.

I felt a piercing sensation shoot through my chest, and I stumbled backwards. Shock was something I wasn't used to, and so I sat there trying to process what had just happened.

A sound had cut through the air when I had felt my chest in pain, and now my ears were ringing. I looked down at my body, and I saw my blood staining my white clothes.

I heard the sound again. And then again.

I felt my body spasm over and over, and the painful sensation pricked at my arms and my legs. More and more of my blood began to come out, and I felt a strange kind of feeling well up in my chest.

Was it fury? Anger? The simple loss of patience and temper?

I didn't know.

I looked at the strange object that the man was holding. It was a lot like the illustrations I had seen of weapons that soldiers used to kill people. There was a hole in the side facing me, and that hole was letting out smoke. I could smell a scent I'd never smelled before.

My curiosity began to burn bright, and I stood up. I walked over to the man, who had begun to step back for reasons I could not tell, and I smiled to him. I grasped the barrel of his gun and ripped it from his grasp. Before he could react any more, I took it with me to the far side of the room. Placing it on the floor, I began scanning my library of books. Seeing an encyclopedia, I smiled and pulled it out.

After reading a bit, I nodded and put the book back.

Yes, it was a gun. To be precise, it was an assault rifle. An M16. A standard-issue assault rifle given to law enforcers and military crew throughout America.

And he had just shot me with it. Three times.

The smell that I could detect was the smell of gunpowder, as well as the increasingly heavy scent of fresh blood.

My face suddenly bent into an expression I hadn't made yet, and I picked the gun back up. I stared at the metallic surface of the weapon, and the strange emotion from earlier began bubbling back up. I felt my eyebrows knit, and then my grip on the stock and the barrel grew tighter.

With a simple and weak movement, I felt the metal cave under my arms as the gun broke in half. Shards of steel flew into the air, and I discarded the now broken and useless firearm onto the floor.

I walked back to the man, whose expression had become one I was a little bit familiar with.

I remember reading something about that kind of expression.

I think it was called...what was it?

Fear?

I paid the thought no heed and turned the man around. I pushed him lightly out of the room, but the movement sent him sprawling onto the floor. He quickly scrambled back to his feet and exited the room hastily.

I shook my head and looked back to the wall. It was now stained and splattered with the color of my blood, and I thought it might be...a refreshing change.

Ignoring the mess, I walked back to my library and took out the novel I had been reading earlier. I sat back onto my bed and opened the page on the bookmark I had left there after one person in a lab coat had offered it to me. I had taken it with gratitude, even if his face was trembling slightly.

…

I never got to meet my father.

I never got to meet my mother.

In fact, they told me that I didn't really have a real mother or father. I was just a baby born and raised in a test tube. I was only a product of the combined genes of two different people.

But I remember the names of those two people as if they were my own father and mother.

They called him Pariah.

They called her Dana Mercer.

And sometimes...I hear the whispers or the hushed chatter outside my room as they get ready to test me again.

I heard a bunch of different names.

But one stood out among the rest.

I was...

I am Codename: Hercules.


	2. Experimentation I

Experimentation I

It was like any other day in my life. It was...an ordinary day.

My 'ordinary' was waking up to my white ceiling and getting out of my white bedsheets and folding them up, fixing my white bed. Then, it's off to my bookshelf and seeing just what I could select to read for the morning. Then, I would hear the sound of someone knocking on my door. I would turn to the door, watch it slide into the wall and disappear, and see a person in a lab coat holding a tray of food. The person, whether it was a man or a woman, would smile at me politely and place the food on my desk and leave.

I just ate it. I would never question what it was, the taste, or why they were giving it to me.

I just ate it.

After that, I would just go to my bed and read my novels. Once that was done, I would just sleep. Then I would wake up once again and try to keep myself in shape, as well as to kill time through physical means.

There was some exercise equipment in the room, per my request to keep my body in shape. After all, I never got any sunlight or proper exercise in this room, so machines and simulators could do the job better than nothing. That was my line of reasoning.

They had told me that it was not necessary, those people in lab coats. That toning my body was unnecessary, and the only good it would do was for the sake of killing time.

I had asked for it anyway. Reading alone would not sate my curiosity anymore. I loved books, but I was also human. At least, that was my presumption.

Since I looked perfectly human, and there seemed to be nothing wrong with my body at all.

Sometimes, I questioned why I was here.

After all, the books I loved always detailed stories of people living in the 'outside' world.

I wonder...

What's it like outside?

This thought was still fresh in my mind when I heard the door open once again.

"Good afternoon. Today, things are going to be a little different. Come with me."

A woman stepped into the room wearing yet another white lab coat. She was clearly an adult in her thirties, complete with a pair of heavy-rimmed glasses and a heavy-set scowl. She was kind enough to smile at me, however, but went back to her frown the instant we exited the room.

As we walked, I took note of the environment. It was my first time, after all.

I was being led through a long, plain white hallway, and I felt a little sick and tired of the same color decorating my vision over and over. There were no doors on the sides, none I could see, and there were no furnishings like how there were in my books.

At the end of the hall was another doorway, this one being much larger than the entrance to my room. As it slid open, the lady gestured for me to follow her. I did so obediently and quietly, not quite sure what to expect.

As I stepped through the doorway, the woman held up a hand. The gesture to stop walking. I immediately ceased moving and stood still, to which she nodded and walked away. She walked to the left, where another door slid open and she disappeared through it. The doors closed behind her, leaving me alone in the room.

I observed my surroundings a bit more closely.

This room was far larger than anything I was used to, fitting the kind of space requirement that I would imagine a ballroom to be. The space was empty and barren, and the only remarkable feature was a massive square that took up the center of the room. It was so wide and large, I was nearly stepping on it, and I was close to the entrance.

Within the square, many smaller squares were lined up in rows and columns. It was like having a massive floor plan showing the floor tiles inside.

A grid, so to speak.

Suddenly, I could hear the sound of a voice boom across the entire room. It was very loud, making me wince and reach for my ears by reflex. I stopped my hands by force of will, instead choosing to listen to the words being spoken.

"Mic test, mic test."

_That's what people using microphones say to make sure the device is functioning properly, right?_

I've only read about it. I've never actually seen it or heard it being used.

I had to admit, experiencing something I've only read about is interestingly refreshing.

"Okay. Good day to you, young man. If I'm not mistaken, you don't have a proper name. Am I right?" The voice that boomed out from every direction was that of a friendly-sounding old man. His tone didn't sound hostile, instead seemingly intimate and warm.

"Umm...can you hear me?" I responded with my own voice, wondering if that's what I was supposed to be doing. My own confusion leaked out through my voice, making it come out weaker and more timid than usual.

"Ah, very good. Yes, everything you say out loud will be broadcasted to me."

_That's pretty cool. _

"So...to answer my previous question, I will ask you it again. You have not been given a name, am I correct?"

The question lingered in my mind, and I placed my hand on my chin by force of habit as I tried to recall. No one has ever bothered to tell me what my name was, or what people chose to call me outside of my room. As far as I could tell, I had none.

The idea made me a little sad, but I chose to remain honest. I said this to him, and he grunted in an acknowledging manner through the mic.

"I see."

Suddenly, I saw something move in the room. I turned my eyes to the center of the grid, and I witnessed the floor tiles rising from the floor like stalagmites.

Various different levels and platforms were in full view by the time that the mechanism had finished.

"This is an obstacle course. I want you to get from one side to the other. Simple as that." He instructed me.

I narrowed my eyebrows, not sure why he wanted me to do that. But since I was left with no other option but to disobey him stubbornly and sit on the floor or attempt to exit the room, I took a step towards the jagged and craggy-looking floor.

The instant I stepped on the first tile, the floor immediately reacted. Suddenly, the platforms began shifting and moving, changing the level of their height constantly. I took a cautious few steps forward, and the ground began changing a little more violently.

Suddenly, I felt something extremely bad.

I felt a cold and pitted feeling, like a sword blade or a gunshot, run through my body. My senses suddenly shot up, and I crouched down on one knee by reflex and braced my arms against the ground.

Not a moment too soon, not a moment too late.

The second I did, two massive square-like platform shot out from either side of me and slammed together directly on the spot where my head used to be. I shuddered to think what might have remained of my body if I had not taken action, and I rolled under it and stood back up.

"Excellent reflexes, for someone cooped up in a room all day. All you do is read and occasionally tone your body, yet you can already do things to this extent..."

I ignored the elderly voice from the mic and began sprinting forward. My back ran cold again, and my legs braced themselves and sprang me into a really high jump.

An instant later, white and sharp spikes shot out from the floor where I was standing. They were large, the base being wider than I am, and shiny like marble.

I sucked in my breath and landed onto one of the higher platforms, rolling to cushion my impact when I did. I stood back up and took a cautious look around me, surveying the field. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that nothing was coming for me as of now.

Suddenly, the floor below me rumbled and shook, and I stumbled and fought to stay balanced. Two massive rectangles of white steel shot out from the ground, positioned directly to my right and left. Without warning, they suddenly closed in on me faster than I wanted to think about, and my arms thrust out by reflex. I felt the shock of the impact down to my feet when the rectangular objects struck my palms, and I grit my teeth as I began pushing back against the steel.

"Oh, so your physical strength has gone to this extent, has it? Interesting..."

I felt my being scream with protest as my arms continued to hold out against the pressing sensation. It was intensifying by the second, attempting to squash my body in between them like a sandwich.

_I won't be able to push them back in time! I'm going to die!_

"Let me make something clear to you by asking you a question." The elderly voice suddenly rang clearly in my ears, and it lulled my senses and dulled my strength. I could feel my arms begin to buckle under the weight of the pressure as my attention was trying to switch between my survival and what the old man had to say.

"I'm trying to stay alive, here!" I complained, and I realized that it was the first time in my life that I've managed to retort to someone. A strange sense of happiness filled my being, and I pushed a little harder.

"What do you think you are?"

_What do I think I am? What kind of question is that?_

"What is that question supposed to mean?" I responded, pushing outwards even harder.

"Do you think that you're normal?"

The question, one that I didn't expect to hear, and especially in this situation, made me cease paying attention to the walls around me. The crushing sensation was now but a dull ache in my mind, which now focused on the explosion of thoughts in my mind.

_Am I normal? _

I certainly had no idea what normal was supposed to mean. I had no idea how to answer the question.

_What **is**_ _normal? _

I certainly had no idea how to answer that question, either.

But from the books I've read, normal certainly didn't mean what I was doing right now. Which was holding off two massive walls of white steel that were threatening to crush my very being into a flat rag.

This wasn't normal.

Being able to do this...certainly made me abnormal.

_I'm...not normal?_

The thought distracted me so much that I began to feel the pressure on my arms intensifying. Before I knew it, my extended arms had been forced into a position closer to my body then I wanted them to be.

I shook my head to drive the thoughts away and exerted even more force into my arms, and the steel pillars began to move away from me.

I threw my arms out in a single, strong burst of energy. The pillars suddenly disconnected from the steel on the floor and flew into the walls, and I heard the sound of metal rending against metal as the objects were shattered into tiny pieces.

The feat had already tired me out, and the rest of the thinking had drained my mental energy. But the obstacle course showed no mercy to me, and I felt the floor shift under my feet rapidly.

Within the blink of an eye, my body was thrown backwards and enveloped into a steel bar cage. I felt chains suddenly latch onto my wrists, and my limbs were violently wrenched backwards. The white steel bars suddenly detached from their vertical position and aimed themselves at me. I heard a faint whirring sound in the back of my head as the poles began to spin. They spiraled faster and faster, turning at a speed that became unidentifiable.

As I looked on, they slowly began to move closer and closer to my body.

I focused my strength into a single arm and forced it forwards, and the steel snapped under the force of the motion. I quickly reached for the other clasp and smashed it under my grip. I turned my attention back to the impending threat, only to find it directly in front of my face.

It had begun to move faster while I was trying to free myself.

I grit my teeth as I grabbed the pole in front of me with my hands. Immediately, I felt a wrenching sensation in my arms as they struggled to keep their paltry grip on the spinning steel. I felt the pain sear through my forearms, and I felt like yelling out a scream.

With a violent yell, I made my arms fly downwards while holding onto the steel bars.

Immediately, the steel snapped as I made the motion.

Once I had broken the trap, the rest of the cage reassembled itself into pillars and disappeared into the ground. The world around me, suddenly died down and became a single flat plain once again. I frowned, or at least...I think that's what I did.

It was my first time to do something like that.

"Hmm...yes, splendid. Incredible." The elderly voice once again spoke, and the voice circulated around the room. It was full of pleasant surprise and revelation.

I wasn't happy to hear it.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of metal sliding against the metal. It was a sound I was familiar with. It was the sound that the sliding door would make whenever it opened.

On the far side of the room, opposite of me, I saw a lone form walk inside the room.

The form was clearly not human.

It was humanoid in its build, but the entirety of its body was made of metal. It was taller than I was, most likely eight feet in height. Its metallic muscle bulged and radiated with a menacing aura, despite the lack of biological life.

Its eyes, merely made of lens and glowing with artificial light, stared at me.

Deadpan. Emotionless.

"Your task is to fight this robot. Okay, begin." The voice nonchalantly said, and the prompting was not wasted on the mechanical threat.

With no warning whatsoever, the mech broke into a run towards my position. Every step it took made the ground thunder and rumble, and I reflexively took a step back.

_This thing won't stop until one of us is done for. _

Making that thought perfectly clear in my mind, I drew strength from it and tried to hold my ground as it approached me.

One...two...

The steps it took brought the machine in front of me much faster than I liked to admit, and I watched it pivot its chest backwards. It began to clench its mechanical fingers into a fist and cock its elbow.

As the punch sailed through the air towards me, I rolled under it and ended up behind the robot. The punch struck the ground where I had been, creating a loud sound that made my eardrums scream in protest.

It spun around and threw another punch. I wasn't ready for it, and the attack caught me in the side. I felt abominable amounts of pain and heat race up my flank, and I felt myself lose a lot of strength as I flew through the air and slid across the floor. My back struck the wall, and I stopped.

I felt the air in my body hitch and catch in my chest, yet I felt my lungs burning for the oxygen. I watched my mouth cough and hack, and the floor was suddenly stained with splotches of bright red.

The color, stark and vivid, brought one fact to mind:

I was going to die.

I felt something guttural begin to stir within my body, and my vision began to turn red. I felt heat, but not unpleasant heat, begin to sear up within my body. It raced through my body, and I felt myself fill up with energy. My vision, blurry from the pain and the impact, was suddenly clear and sharp.

The robot closed in on me, and I watched its movements more attentively than before.

Its powerful legs dashed in a pattern similar to the descriptions of boxers that I've read about. It hopped on its feet in a very lively manner for a split second before dashing in zig-zag mannerisms towards me, its hands up and defending its face.

It tried to deliver a strong punch with its right arm, and the metal object raced towards me at near incomprehensible speed and precision.

The heat in my body suddenly intensified to an unbearable point for an instant, and then the heat all traveled and focused into my arms and legs.

Without meaning to, I performed an evasive leap to the left, sliding to a halt. I performed another involuntary movement, closing in on its side.

For some reason, it seemed...slower. Reading its movements suddenly felt far easier. Watching its arms and legs...I could suddenly tell where it was going to go and the speed of the strike.

I pushed myself off the ground and tried to jump at the robot.

Hopefully, I was going to reach its shoulder and climb onto it from there. Then, I would try go for its head.

I didn't expect my leg-power to launch me directly over the robot's head.

Changing my plan midway, I spun once and performed a kick straight to the robot's head.

I was expecting it to have no effect, or nearly none. At best, it would damage the inner wiring a little.

Instead, the whole head flew off of the robot's shoulders and crumpled into a single mass and wires against the wall. The body, now separated from its head, reeled back and began malfunctioning. I saw sparks and lights emanating from the empty hole where the head once used to be. The limbs began moving independently each of other in a very crazy manner, splaying to many different sides and directions within the span of seconds.

It struck itself in the steel torso with its own fist, and the metal titan fell over and exploded. Debris of wires and steel flew every which way, and I ducked to protect myself.

Silence.

"Well done. The simulation ends here."

I heard the door slide open once again, and I turned to it. Several people in lab coats rushed through it and went over to the robot. As they began examining the torn-up mess of metal, I noticed another old man in a lab coat walk up to me.

He was very large and round, and his hair parted along the middle. Short white hair was present on the sides of his head.

"You did outstandingly well for a first try. I'll tell you something interesting as a reward." He said, a smile on his wrinkled face. I walked slightly closer to him, as I felt curious.

"You don't have a name to call yourself, am I correct?"

He's right. I didn't.

The realization only confirmed what I had been thinking earlier.

I am _not_ normal.

The man smiled again, this time with an eerie feel to it.

"Until you find a name suitable to call yourself...how about you use the one that I made for you?"

"And that would be?"

"For now...your codename is Hercules."


End file.
